The Supreme Court of India on Monday put the ongoing survey of the Gyanvapi Mosque by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) on hold until Wednesday.
The direction from the top court came after the mosque's management committee filed a petition seeking a stay on the scientific survey being carried out by ASI on the orders of the Varanasi district court.
A bench, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud, said that the court gave “breathing time” to the Gyanvapi Mosque management committee to challenge the ASI order of the Varanasi court before the Allahabad High Court.
The top court on Monday asked Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, appearing on behalf of the Uttar Pradesh government, to communicate the order to the ASI.
Before putting the survey on hold, the Supreme Court asked Mehta to inform the ASI team that there should not be any “invasive work” or excavation at the site.
The observation of the court came after submissions made by senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, representing the Muslim side, stated that the survey may lead to an excavation at the historic mosque complex, located next to the iconic Kashi Vishwanath Temple at Varanasi.
However, Mehta said that not a brick has been removed nor is it planned to be removed. “Right now what is going on is measurement, photography, and radar, which will not affect the structure”, he informed the court.
Earlier in the day, a 30-member team of the ASI began the scientific survey of Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi.
The survey by the ASI was done following an order by the Varanasi court.
On Friday, the court directed the ASI to conduct a detailed scientific survey including excavations, wherever necessary, to determine if the mosque was built at a place where a temple existed earlier.
The survey began at 7am (IST), and was extended to all areas except the sealed “Wuzukhana” (a small reservoir for Muslim devotees to perform ritual ablutions) where a structure that Hindu litigants view as a “Shivling” (a phallic symbol of Lord Shiva) was found during an earlier survey in 2022.
The survey's report is to be submitted to the district court by 4 August. Video clips and photographs of the survey proceedings are also to be submitted by the ASI.
Along with the ASI team, four women litigants and four lawyers from the Hindu side are present at the site. However, the mosque’s management committee has boycotted the survey.
Joint Secretary of the Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee SM Yasin said: “We have boycotted the ASI survey. Neither we nor our advocate are present there during the ASI survey. We are not participating in it”.
The issue arose last year after four Hindu women approached an Uttar Pradesh court seeking permission to worship deities in the Gyanvapi Mosque's premises.
The court then ordered a video survey of the mosque, during which an object was discovered that some people have described as a “shivling”. But the mosque's management committee denied the claims, saying that the discovered object was actually part of a fountain in the Wuzukhana to wash hands and feet before prayers.